Loneliness
by JakeXxChance
Summary: Jake and Chance are lonely. Will they ever fill the emptiness of their hearts? Rated M for language and future 'mature themes'.
1. Intro

Hello peeps! This story... well, if it goes the way I'm intending, Chance and Jake aren't gonna be having a lovely time. I'm not good at that and I need practice. Anyway, Chance is 16, Jake 15. They are in their sophomore year, and have never even met each other. I can't give much more than that; it would ruin the drama of the first couple chapters. So, read on!

Damn, I guess I gotta say it. If you're stupid enough to think I own SWAT Kats, even though I wish I did, you need to be shot. No offense. But really.

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Jake's POV

~~~X~~~ ~~~X~~~ ~~~X~~~

As he walked through school, all he heard was snickers and laughter. _At him. _He wasn't exactly popular. And by that, I mean he was alone. Completely alone. He had no friends, no lovers, no admirers even. No one even respected him, as far as he knew. He was the nerd. Or at least, he acted and looked like it. While his parents were alive, they had always told him to look nice for school, that in the long run, even if uncomfortable, he would have better chances at life. He hadn't cared, no, not then. But then their plane crashed, and he was left alone, with only his sister to comfort him. She tried to get him out of his shell, this empty life he was living. But he honored his parents, and wore a button-down shirt and tie every day, taking what they'd told him to the extreme. She tried to get him to a psychologist, but he'd refused. He knew his problems, he just didn't _want_ to face them. He felt it would be an insult to his parent's memory. In school, he was hollow. Nothing filled him. He hid himself. Outside school, well...

By the end of the day, and TGIF, he was ready to let off his steam. And who knows, maybe he'd finally meet someone.

* * *

Chance's POV

~~~X~~~ ~~~X~~~ ~~~X~~~

As _he_ walked through school, people parted around him. Girls giggled, guys just stared. He was the popular one. He was the one that being a friend of could make you popular, no matter how unpopular you were. He had friends. He had at least a dozen, maybe two. But he was still alone. People were his 'friends' for popularity, to induce envy. He did well enough, if it interested him, he learned it. If it didn't, his mother helped him learn it. He was casual, but too much so. He couldn't be himself, he was too crowded. His father left his mother before he was born. _Ass._ He wished someone would like him for who he was, not for who he could make them be. In school, he was hollow. Nothing really game him a reason to enjoy himself. He'd played football, hell, he was the star player. But that's the thing. Was. It just took away his time, he never enjoyed it. His popularity had dipped when he'd quit, but after a month, everyone forgot about it. It was funny, almost, how his popularity was beginning to ruin his life. He wanted more...

By the end of the day, he was ready to go to the bar and get drunk off his tail. Even at his age, you could do that in MKC. He'd always hoped to meet someone at the club who'd actually respect him...

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Ok, so pretty short, but it's an introductory chapter, kinda like a prologue. Still, it's pretty deep. I'll add the next chapter in a week or so. Till then, review, and think about it!


	2. Making Friends

Chance looked up at the sign for the club and smiled before walking in the door. Someone new was supposed to be playing tonight, and from what he'd heard from his people, they were pretty good. For once, he didn't walk straight to the bar. He actually wanted to hear the band _before_ he got tipsy. His mom had told him something different was going to happen today. His mom was something of a psychic, so he didn't question it. He looked around. As usual, no one from his school was there. Then again, this place wasn't exactly in the good part of town. Most people were afraid to come within five miles of here. He sat down at a table near the stage and looked at his watch. it was 8:57. _Good. Only three minutes til the performance. _He couldn't wait. It was strange, really.

When the curtain opened, he was a bit surprised. The lead singer looked about his age. The other kats looked older. The singer started talking.

"Hello MKC!" Everyone cheered. "This is my first time singing here, but I think I like you guys already!" Chance swore the kat looked straight at him. "The first song we're playing tonight is Gallows, by Atreyu. Anyone heard it before?" One or two paws went up. "Well okay then! Let's play!" Chance noticed a buildup in the volume of the music before the kat started singing. Somehow, he thought he recognized the voice. Just barely, if at all. They only part he actually heard was the chorus, the rest of the time he was too dazed by the voice.

"Restless, chasing shadows. Choices, facing gallows pole. Are you handing by a thread, or swinging from the rope? Don't think we don't see your scars. Are you afraid of who you are? Are you afraid of who you are!"

By the time they stopped playing their sixth song, Chance desperately wanted to talk to the singer. The band went back behind the curtain, but not before the singer did a front flip off the stage. He walked up to the stunned Chance.

"Mind if I sit here?" he asked coolly.

"Uh, y-yeah." stuttered Chance.

"Chance, right?" the kat asked.

"Do I know you?"

"Probably not. But I know you. Wow, that came out awkward..."

"Wait a minute..." Chance said, suddenly recognizing the voice. "You're the Clawson kid, right? Uh.."

"Jake." the kat said. "And yeah, I am. The so-called nerd."

"Why do you play into it so much? You look epic. I couldn't even recognize you!"

"I guess... I guess I'd call it my parents' last wish. To look good in school. I never really cared, though, until they died."

"Oh, I understand. But I don't think they'd want you to throw away your social life for it. Don't you think they'd like you to be yourself? Looking good is one thing, hiding yourself is another, you know."

"Yeah..." Truth be told, Chance was the only one who he'd ever change for. It wasn't that he was popular, there was just something about him that made Jake want to be different, especially after being asked. It was strange. "I guess you're right."

After a few minutes of silence, Jake decided to ask Chance a question. "Um, Chance?"

Chance cocked his head. "What?"

"Would you like to come over to my house over the weekend? My sister would be surprised. It's been years since I've bothered to make a friend."

Chance thought it over for a minute. His mom would be happy, she probably wouldn't mind. "Sure. I'll call my mom when we leave, okay?"

"Sounds good." Jake smiled. "Hey, before we leave, want to grab a drink? On me, anything you want, as long as you can handle it. It's starting to get a bit too noisy and crowded for me in here."

"Really?"

"Yes, really." Jake rolled his eyes. "Again, just don't get drunk. That's one thing I don't have patience for."

"Oh, ok."

The two slipped over to the bar. Jake ordered three Long Island Iced Teas, and Chance a bottle of vodka. The bartender warned Jake. "Those go down easy. Most people don't even notice the effect until they stand up, and that's adults. Be careful." He looked at Chance. "And Chance, don't drink as fast as you did last time." The kat walked away to tend other customers.

"Last time?" Jake asked.

"Let's just sat I drank a bit too much, a bit too fast."

"In other words, you passed out, fell off the stool, and almost got a concussion?"

Chance laughed. "Yep."

Jake swallowed the last bit of his third drink. Chance was drinking his vodka slowly. Jake could tell he wasn't used to drinking slow, and actually _wanted_ to stay sober. "Shall we leave, then? Or do you want to finish your vodka here?"

"Leaving sounds good to me."

Jake laid the money down on the counter and stood up, stretching. When he and Chance walked out seemingly sober, the bartender's jaw dropped. Jake ignored it.

Jake and Chance walked down the sidewalk outside the club. "So, how'd you get here?" Jake asked.

"Walked. My house is only a few miles away."

"Okay. You were going to call your mother, right?"

"Oh, yeah." Chance pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and dialed a number. He held it to his ear. "Hi, Ma... Yeah, I know I'm not drunk... I know you're surprised... Ma... Ma... Mom... I'm fine Ma!" Chance sighed. "Hey, can I stay at a friend's house over the weekend? Yes, I have friends. Really Ma. I... hey... Ma... Mom-" Chance hung up. He had a feeling she'd forgotten her prediction. Then again, she did that father often.

"So...?"

"I'm guessing it's okay. She didn't let me talk much." he laughed.

"What's this about no friends?" Jake asked.

Chance gave a half-hearted smile."When you're popular everyone's your friend, but in reality, no one is."

"Oh. The whole 'friend just to be popular' thing?"

"Yeah."

"So, want me to take you to your house? You'll have to tell me where to go."

"How're you gonna do that? Yeah, that would be awesome, but how?" Chance finished his vodka and tossed the bottle into a trash can they were passing.

Jake turned off the sidewalk into a parking lot. He walked to the back. "This." He set his paw on a shiny black motorcycle. A very nice, large, shiny black motorcycle.

"Oh. My. God."

"Nice, eh?"

"That's amazing."

"Yeah, I know. I designed it." Jake pulled a bandanna out of his pocket and put it on, then his helmet. He handed a bandanna and helmet to Chance, too.

"You _designed _this?"

"Yeah. Well, I built it too."

"That's... I don't even know. There's no way to describe how awesome that is."

Jake just smiled. Chance was going to have a hell of a ride. And of a weekend.

Putting the helmet on, Chance realized now why Jake was wearing combat boots, jeans, and a leather jacket in weather as warm as it was. Being all black, he must get hot.

The two got on the motorcycle. Jake started it up. It was quiet for a motorcycle. It made no more sound than a car, when you were on the _inside_. And it wasn't slow either. Jake got them to Chance's house faster than he thought safely possible.

For the most popular kit in school, his house was astonishingly normal. Most of the time you think of the popular kids as the ones with all the breaks, the spoiled kids whose parents follow their every wish and whim. No, not Chance. It was a nice place though, not small, not large, set in a medium-sized yard, in a quiet neighborhood. The aluminum siding was painted a light blue, and the lawn was the green of spring. Chance took off his helmet and bandanna before standing up.

Jake took off his helmet. "Should I stay here?"

"Nah." Chance said. "Ma will wanna meet you. It'd make her happy for me to be able to prove I made a friend."

"Okay then." Jake took off his bandanna and put it in his helmet, which he hung from the handlebars with the straps before putting the kickstand down and getting off the bike. A lot of kats would put the kickstand down any time they stop, especially with a bike like Jake's, but it was made of a relatively lightweight material, and he trained himself to be stronger than he looked. Jake followed Chance to the door and inside.

The first room was the kitchen, which had a wood stove in it, although it wasn't burning anything at the moment. Jake could tell it was well used. Chance slipped his shoes off and left them on a rug near the door, so Jake pulled his boots off with a bit of effort and left them there. Through an open doorway was the living room, where the stout kat Jake assumed to be Chance's mother reclined watching Kat's Eye News. When she noticed Chance, she stood up and hugged him, then turned to Jake.

"Is this your new friend, Chance?" She had a very soothing, elegant voice. She wore a green sweater and a dark blue ankle-length pleated skirt.

"Yeah. Ma, This is Jake."

"Hello Jake."

"Hello Mrs. Furlong." Jake wanted to be polite.

She furrowed her brow, making Jake wince inwardly. "No, no, that won't do. Please, call me Krystal." Chance tried not to laugh, but failed. "What's so funny, Chance?"

"It's just that you always told me never to call an adult by their first name."

"That's true, but some adults find it awkward, like myself." she shrugged.

"Well, I'm going to get my stuff together." Chance walked off to his room. Jake stayed behind.

"Krystal, you said, right?"

"Yes."

"Chance is my first friend in a long time. Since my parents died. I pushed everyone away from me, even my older sister, even though we grew together again. But she's the only one I've ever had that stayed by my side. Chance, though. He sees through my mask now, and I don't think he'll let it go unshattered."

"He won't, you're right. But you must be a rather special kat too. You like him for who he is, and not just because of his popularity level, right?"

"Yeah."

Krystal folded her arms. "Another thing. Usually, no one can stop him from getting hammered when he wants to. He wanted to tonight, and he's sober. What did you do?"

Jake shrugged. "Nothing really. I just told him not to, And that it's one thing I don't have the patience for."

"I see. Chance is coming. Pretend we didn't have this conversation, kay?"

Jake nodded.

* * *

Jake sped along an old road, Chance sitting behind him. It was well paved and straight, a few miles long, too, but it seemed he and his sister were the only ones that went near it. Chance leaned forward.

"Don't you think we're going a little fast?" he yelled.

"Nah." Jake yelled back, trying to be heard over the wind. "We're only going 85mph! I've done over 120 here!"

"Isn't that dangerous? What if another car came, or a deer? Or... something!" Chance was a bit worried.

"They won't. I've lived here I think eight years now, since my parents died. They never have. It's supposedly haunted, but I like it. I've never had trouble. You're the third kat in at _least _four years to pull onto this road, I'm sure."

Jake slowed down and pulled into a driveway that led back into a small forest. Chance could see a rather nice house hidden amongst the trees. The lawn, if it could be called such, was a very plush moss, as no grass would grow in such constant shade. Even if it did, he realized, it would be a pain in the ass to mow. Jake walked to the door.

"Just so you know, my sister won't be home till tomorrow morning." He opened the door and led Chance through the very homey but beautiful house to the very back, where Jake's room was. Upon entering Jake's room, the first thing he noticed was that the walls and ceiling were painted to look like the night sky.

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**That's all for now, folks. This is my last comment in this post. REVIEW OR I WILL FIND YOU AND I _WILL_ EAT YOU. That is all. =)**


	3. Inventions and Nightmares

**Thanks go to Cody Furlong, Rasorslove, and Hera Ledro for reviews. Don't worry Hera, your review should help me a lot. For some reason, I always need a slap in the face to get my stories running smoothly. They usually never come though, so thanks. I intend to improve a great deal.**

**May Thalia and Melpomene, Muses of comedy and tragedy, guide me.**

**

* * *

**"The night sky?" Chance's eyes scoured the walls in Jake's room.

"Yeah..." Jake said quietly. "It helps me sleep, the peacefulness of it."

"Peaceful? I guess it is."

"At night, nothing in this room bears light in any way, save for the stars and the moon, but the light is faint."

Chance looked around. He couldn't see the moon anywhere. "The moon, where is it?"

Jake flipped a switch, and the light went off. The light the stars gave off became a bit more noticeable, and a dim light shone from a crescent moon that had appeared on one wall. It was blue. "The moon blends into the wall until I shut off the main light. Then it glows." he said simply.

Chance set his bag down and flipped the light back on. He looked at his watch. "It's almost 11."

"Are you tired?" Jake asked.

"Not really."

"Then what does it matter what time it is?"

"I..." Chance paused. Jake was right. At someone else's house, especially on a weekend, what should time matter to him? "Never mind."

Jake walked out of the room, and Chance followed, unsure what Jake was doing. "Jake?"

Jake turned around. "Hmm?"

"What are you doing?"

"I didn't tell you?" Chance shook his head. "Sorry. I get lost in thoughts sometimes. I forgot to ask you to follow me."

"Where?"

"Outside." Jake turned back around and slipped out the door.

Chance followed Jake behind the house and a bit deeper into the woods. They stopped at the top of a small flight of stairs leading into a bowl-shaped indent in the ground. In the middle was a stone monument that was carved to look like a door. It even had a knob, and a keyhole. Jake turned to Chance.

"Before we go down there, I need to know. What's different about your mom? There's something, I could tell; do you know?"

"What do you mean?"

"When you were getting your bag to come over here, I told her about my parents, and my self-seclusion. I don't know why though. Something told me to."

"Oh... that."

"What?"

"She's a self-trained empath."

"What's that?"

"An empath is someone with an unnaturally deep sense of empathy. They pull emotions off others, and often make them their own. I say self-trained because she's figured out how to tell when that's happening and block it, since it isn't always a good thing. But empaths... there is an aura about them that compels people to tell them their problems, almost like a psychologist. Most of the time, though, people can't tell why, but they end up blurting more than they'd tell most people. After, they usually feel better. It's a bit strange, but cool. Do you follow?" Chance hoped he wouldn't have to repeat.

"So, dumbed down, she's _really_ easy to talk to."

"Pretty much."

"Okay, thanks. it was bothering me."

Jake stared up at the sky, eyes fixating on the moon. He grinned before walking down the steps. Chance followed him, counting the steps. _'...eleven, twelve, thirteen.' _He wondered curiously why thirteen, of all numbers. Jake walked up to the monument, and Chance noticed now, upon closed inspection, that it _was_ in fact a door, and it had another part behind it that sloped away from it. Jake pulled a key from his pocket and pushed it into the keyhole. When he turned it, Chance heard a loud click. Jake opened the door and, sure enough, there was a staircase leading into the dark. Jake waved Chance in and closed the door, locking it behind him. Jake flicked a switch at the bottom of the staircase. Chance was greeted by blueprints, everywhere. They were piled up on each other, sketches of jets, motorcycles, missiles, and gloves; many revised time after time, especially the jets. Many of the blueprints lie piled in the corner, crumpled up, giving evidence of failures. He picked up one of the jet drawings.

"This is amazing." He studied it for a moment. "I would kill to fly something like this. It's almost completely viable."

Jake frowned. "Almost completely? And how would you know?"

Chance laughed. "I'm a big fan of jets, and I watch every MegaWar II movie and read every book on it I can find. For viability, this model's frame wouldn't be able to handle the engine's power. It might survive maiden voyage, but after that it would probably rip itself apart."

Jake snatched the blueprint from Chance, and looked it over. His ears flattened. "I see what you mean. This is a few models ago though. If you don't mind, I need to make a new print, that issue still shows up. Damn, I can't believe I never noticed it!" He sat down at a desk with a computer. His first prints he always did by hand, but computer programs helped him work faster and tended to make neater prints. "Feel free to look at the other blueprints."

Chance didn't need to be told twice. They were intriguing and well thought out. Well, the ones that weren't ripped to shreds or crumpled up were, anyway.

Jake brought up his most recent print in the program and found a similar mistake in it, as he knew he would. He cleared his head, and started to fix it. It was mostly an issue with the material and bevel. There were parts that would catch too much wind versus the thrust, and would probably get ripped off at any level of speed.

A while later, Jake printed out the newest model. He showed it to Chance.

"Wow, this is..." He was at a loss for words. "And I thought the first one was good. This makes it look like a pile of crap! There's no issues in its build that I can see... Jake, how do you do it?"

Jake shrugged. My dad... he showed me how to draw blueprints. He was an engineer and a rocket scientist."

"So... engineering runs in the family?"

"I guess." Jake looked over the new blueprints again. "I think it's time to actually try to build it. It would be the third of my prints I've gotten around to it with."

"The third?"

"Yeah. The first being the my motorcycle, the second being this..." Jake knelt next to his desk. There was a small safe, about two cubic feet. He put in the combination slowly. _'16...32...12.' _He opened it and took out what appeared to be a gauntlet of some sort. Looking a bit closer, he recognized it from one of the blueprints.

"The Glo...uh...Glovatrix, right?"

"That's right." Jake slipped it on and clenched his fist, then moved his hand around to show its flexibility in that it could make any movement the hand would normally make, like a glove, even though it was so much more than that. "I don't have the resources to make it much more than an ornament, though. I've been thinking about sneaking into the salvage yard to find a few blasters or something. Parts for higher tech get damn expensive, and there's only so many things I can dismantle and use for something else." He started taking it off.

"Hey, I'll go to the Yard with you tomorrow and help you find stuff if you want. I'm sure we can find more than blasters. I mean really, the Enforcers aren't _that_ competent. helicopters and tanks are getting ripped apart a bit more often than they should, you know?" Chance laughed.

"True, true."

"On one condition. Make me a Glovatrix too? They look fucking awesome." Chance smiled.

"Shouldn't be hard. Do you want me to start now? I can have it done by morning."

"Uh, yeah, I guess. Won't you be tired?" Chance asked curiously.

"Not at all. Well, maybe a bit, but not much. I work well at night, and I got a decent amount of sleep last night. I have at least another twenty hours, give or take, before I'll get tired to the extent i want to sleep. Are you tired?"

"I am, now that you mention it." It took a moment to register Jake's previous comment. "Wait, you only sleep every other night?" Chance looked worried. "That's not good for you, tired or not! You know, I had a friend years ago who got mono almost every time she missed a night's sleep and hadn't eaten a relatively large amount that day. And both happened a bit too often. Most people aren't that vulnerable to it, but still. Missing that much sleep's bad for you."

"I don't care." Jake huffed. "I work well sleep deprived, and still, it's usually a waste of my time. Besides, an insomniac needs _some_ way to force himself to fall asleep, don't he? Running myself into extreme exhaustion works rather well for me. It keeps the nightmares away too." Jake shivered, and he looked at the floor for a moment.

"I guess it makes sense then, why you don't sleep. If you're an insomniac, it's hard to sleep anyway. What kind of nightmares do you have?" He himself had a few rather bad ones that he could remember.

"Different scenarios. But in every single one, I get humiliated, get it shoved in my face, then get killed."

"That's horrible. I can see why you'd want to avoid them."

"Yeah. In one, this one kat asked me out. Sounded really nice. I accepted, and he told me to meet him at the top of this really tall building." Jake paused a moment. Chance avoided mentioning the 'he' and 'him', at least for now. "I got there a bit ahead of time. I waited. And waited. He stood me up. I cried, watching the sun set from the highest building in the city, all alone. Someone tapped my shoulder after an hour and a half, give or take. When I turned around, it was him... and a bunch of his friends. They were all laughing at me. Him the hardest. He said, 'I stood you up. How's it feel, hmm? I'm surprised you believed me in the first place! Who would ask out a kat as _useless _and _pathetic _as you are? I mean really!' They all laughed more. I was sobbing. Then he said 'You deserve it, for being such a _fag_.' He kicked me in the ribs. He was at least twice my size, kinda like you, maybe a bit smaller. It sent me sliding across the roof. He was wearing steel-toed boots. I tried to move, but i couldn't. Pain shot through my chest. He'd broken three or four ribs. I was coughing up blood... He walked over to me, still laughing. He kicked me in the head. I didn't wake up. He kicked me in my other side, breaking a few more ribs. I'm pretty sure one punctured a lung, making blood start pooling in it." Jake started shaking. He was starting to tear up.

"Jake, are you okay?"

"No, I'm not." Tears were flowing now. "That dream lasted hours, and I never woke up. Not until I died. and that's still a couple hours left that I'm getting to. Realistically, I should've been dead already. But no, I wasn't. He kicked me on both sides a couple more times, making sure he shattered every rib. Might as well have been real. I've broken a rib before. It felt the same in the dream. The pain was accurate. Except it was every rib, a punctured lung, and a concussion. He pretty much crushed my...uh, I think you can figure that one out." Jake flattened his ears, still crying. Chance grimaced. He put a paw on Jake's shoulder.

"Jake. You aren't dreaming right now. Try to calm down, you'll make yourself sick." Chance grabbed as much of the skin on the back of Jake's neck as he could and pulled back a bit. Jake coughed, and his heartbeat slowed down a bit.

"Th-thanks." He coughed again. "The dream's almost over. If I finish, I'll feel a lot better. Anyway, after _that_, I realized the only girls that were with the kat had left, probably thinking he'd taken it way too far. But there was still him and around a dozen other guys there. He kicked me in the head again. I was so dazed, I didn't realize he was raping me until he was almost done... Then he passed me around like a sex toy. _Every single one_ of them raped me. they stacked the humiliation so high it was ridiculous." Jake was a lot calmer than before. Chance kept holding the scruff of Jake's neck. Mother kats did that to keep their kit's calm, and to make them feel safe. His mother had showed him, even though she's never had to use it on him. "The one who'd asked me out raped me a second time too, and he took his time. He made sure to make it as utterly painful as possible, and made sure i was awake enough to register it all. And after that, he fucked me in the mouth. I probably would've bitten him, I was gonna die anyway, but my jaw was broken. he crammed _everything_ into my mouth time after time, until he climaxed again. he drew out, then kicked me hard in the ribs one last time, sending me off the roof of the building... I was naked. Dignity ripped to shreds. Innocence abused. Body practically put through the blender. I was relieved when I hit the ground..."

Chance released Jake's neck. The latter coughed a few times.

"Jake, are all your nightmares like that?"

"Not that bad, usually. Although I've had that one a couple times."

"God, Jake, no wonder you try to do anything you can to avoid nightmares. You were pretty much living dead after the first ten minutes of that beating. Humiliation after humiliation, pain after pain." Chance started shaking with rage. "If i _**ever**_ met that **_fucking asshole _**in any normal dream, I'd turn into _his _nightmare, a reflection of yours, except it would be my dream. He'd be alive when he hit the ground, get beaten by a bat, then raped by every single fucking passerby to top it off!"

Jake chuckled. "Thanks and all Chance, but calm down. I think you inherited some of that empathy from your mother."

Chance blinked. "Oops, sorry. I guess I did. I didn't lie though."

"I believe you, but now I think I understand why a lot of empaths try to block feelings that aren't their own. Things like what you just did must happen relatively often to them if they're around other kats."

"Yeah..."

Jake grabbed a towel from a drawer in the room and wiped his face off, then grabbed a brush and ran it through his fur, then put both away. He turned to Chance. "Do I look like I didn't just have a massive mental breakdown?"

Chance looked Jake over for a minute. "Kinda. You look better, but not really normal. Close enough though."

"Thanks." Jake pulled the key out of his pocket and walked over to the staircase. He noticed Chance wasn't following him. "Hey, you coming?"

Chance snapped out of the trance he was in. "Oh, yeah."

* * *

Back in Jake's room, Jake had measuring tape slung over his shoulder.

"Hold out your paw." Jake told Chance.

"What?"

"Hold out you paw." Chance did, and Jake took a few measurements of Chance's wrist, paw, and fingers. "Okay. I'll start on your Glovatrix. If you want to sleep, it doesn't matter where. On the bed, on the floor, in a dark corner, under the bed, in the closet, on the ceiling, whatever. Just stay in this room. Anywhere else, and my sister will probably completely ruin your sleep a few minutes after she gets home. Nikki's a pain like that. She'd wake you up and ask you if I drugged you and/or took advantage of you, just to do it. So... yeah."

"That's right, I didn't want to ask you while you were having your breakdown, but are you gay? The nightmare, I was wondering."

"Gay? I tell kats I'm bi. Well, I would if they asked. But the chances of a she-kat getting my attention are almost none. She'd have to be Aphrodite herself, without hiding intelligence, not being a seductress, being honest and slightly modest. So you, almost impossible. You could rather easily call me gay. Why, does that bother you?"

"No, not at all. I just wanted to know. I'm gay, myself."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Don't be telling anyone though. I've got a reputation."

"I thought you didn't care?"

"I don't as much as some do, but I'd really rather not sink. I can help you build your reputation up, but if that gets out, both of ours will be shattered. Except maybe in the eyes of anyone who's openly gay and a few she-kats. other than them, though, we'd be rock bottom."

"Oh. Anyway, good night. I'll close the door. Nikki gets home around... eight, maybe nine. You're going to want to be awake by then. If you aren't, I'll wake you. She _will_ humiliate you if you're sleeping. Cover you in whipped cream or something retarded like that. She's done it to me before, so trust me, I know. One time she even bleached my fur." Jake shivered at the memory.

Chance laughed. "I remember that. Took a couple months to get back to normal."

Jake pouted. "That wasn't funny."

"Obviously was to her."

"Fine, I won't wake you up." Jake flipped the light off and started to walk out of the room.

"Jake, I'm sorry! Please wake me up!" Jake turned back around.

'_Damn straight.'_ he thought. "Okay, I will, since you apologized. Or maybe I won't, hmm?" He closed the door and went into a different room to work on the glove part of the Glovatrix, leaving Chance hoping to Bast Nikki wouldn't bleach his stripes out.

* * *

**And that's it for this chapter. For those who think that dream was overboard, I got this weird feeling I needed a sickly cruel few moments. Sorry Jake. I have had a similar dream before though. Wasn't fun. T.T**

**Anyway, please rate and review! If you've reviewed before, I don't care! Review again! The threat worked last time, so I'll do it again. If you don't review, I'll pull you soul into the dream world and put you through a wood chipper or something. Cya, and happy dreams! ^_^  
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	4. Love is in the Air

**Thanks to Cody Furlong for reviewing again. I very much love my reviewers. It's like they aren't afraid to let it be known they would actually read what they're reviewing, you know?**

**Thalia and Melpomene guide me.**

**I still own nothing.**

**Warning to anyone who dislikes large amounts of swearing. This chapter is going to get _really _colorful with Nikki. *shivers***

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* * *

**Jake wiped the sweat off his brow with a rag. Sure, he'd made one before, but making a Glovatrix for someone else wasn't as easy. Especially when that kat was asleep in another room. He had to keep it the right size, and it wasn't easy to do that without the paw it was made for. Either way, he was almost done. It had taken him more time to get the components together than to actually assemble it, since it had to be bigger than his own. He tightened a couple parts, made sure it was solid, and smiled. Sure, at this point the only utility it had was a grappling hook, but he was still proud of it. He looked at the clock. 8:30.

"Shit." He was hoping to Bast that Nikki hadn't gotten back yet. He set the Glovatrix down, then bolted out of his invention den, locking the 'monument' behind him. He saw Nikki's car in the driveway. She'd obviously just pulled in, because she was walking to the door. Jake ran through the shadows, darting behind his house. He hoped she hadn't seen him. Nikki didn't like him being outside late, or early. She didn't know about his inventions, and he'd rather not make her mad. Not with Chance here. He inched to his room's window. He slid it open easily and slipped through, shutting it quietly behind him. After fixing the thick, dark blue curtains, he found Chance sleeping on the floor, but judging by his position, he'd gone to sleep on his bed and fell off sometime in the night, then either didn't wake up or was too lazy to get back up. Jake nudged his friend with his foot.

"Chance," he whispered, "get up."

Chance halfheartedly turned over, keeping his eyes closed. He was really a bit cute, his red shirt and jeans, sleeping, or at least attempting to. Jake nudged Chance again. He was ignored. Jake sighed. He didn't have time for this. He hadn't wanted to resort to it, but Jake knelt beside Chance. He clamped a paw over Chance's mouth. After making sure Chance was still sleeping, he positioned a foot over his friend's tail. He lowered his foot enough to put pressure on Chance's tail, and kept putting more and more pressure on it until Chance shot upright, at which point Jake moved his foot and clamped his other paw over Chance's mouth to muffle all noise. After a moment, Jake moved his paws. Chance was glaring at him, understandably. Jake brought a finger to his lips.

"What the hell was that for?" Chance hissed.

Jake shrugged. "I couldn't think of another way to wake you up enough. Nudging you hard only got you awake enough to go back to sleep. And unless you want to be humiliated by Nikki, I kinda needed to wake you. She's here."

Chance's features relaxed. "Sorry. I'm not a morning person."

"Is anyone?" Jake asked. He stood up and walked to the door. "Be right back, I'm going to tell Nikki you're here. Go ahead and change or whatever. Unless you're really fast, changing in the closet's probably a good choice. I give it about forty seconds after I go out to tell her until she tries to bust in. And she will, trust me, no matter how awkward it would be." Just before he opened the door, he winked, and whispered, "T minus forty seconds."

Chance quickly pulled a purple t-shirt and another pair of jeans out of his bag, as well as socks and boxers. He went into the closet to change as fast as he could. He could hear the short conversation going on in the next room.

"Hi Nikki." _Jake._

"Hey, kiddo." Nikki, he assumed.

"I have a friend over, just so you know."

"You have a friend?"

"I do now."

"Jake, I'm happy for you and all, but now I gotta torture him. Where is he?" Without waiting for an answer, she opened the door to Jake's room. Chance thanked Bast that he'd finished changing. He hid in the corner of the closet, curled in a ball. "Okay, where are you, little fucker!" She scanned the room and immediately looked in the closet. She saw Chance and dragged him out of the room by the scruff of his neck, which was humiliating in itself, but not as much as what she did once she got him into the living room. She actually _held him up_ with one paw, keeping him at least four inches off the floor. He scanned her while she gave him the once-over. Nikki must've been at least six feet tall, and her hooker boots added around five inches. She had blonde fur and black hair. She was pretty much wearing an all-black hooker suit, but somehow not looking like a hooker. It might have been the muscle rippling underneath her skin. When she finished looking him over, Nikki dropped Chance, who landed in a heap. She took a step back and nodded her approval. "Muscular, blue-eyed blond, damn sexy stripes, not afraid to wear purple, respectful, overall cute and hot at the same time. Nice catch." Nikki walked off in a random direction, leaving Jake flushed dark red, noticeable even through his fur, and Chance doing a good job of matching the shade.

"Nikki!" Jake yelled.

"What?" She poked her head around the corner leading to the hallway to the kitchen.

"Now show Chance what you're really like. You get ten seconds."

"What the fuck Jake? Why the fucking hell can't I be fucking nice to your friend, you mother fucking asshole? Son of a bitch, I meant really Jake, what the fuck were you fucking thinking? Damn mother fucking bitch-ass fucker!" Nikki laughed.

Jake looked at Chance, whose jaw was dropped, and his eyes wide. "Meet my foul-mouthed sister Nikki."

Nikki was determined to have the last word. "Chance, huh? Really cute name. I'm gonna at least try to pretend I'm completely sane while you're here, but only this one time, kay? Seeya laters." She ducked into the kitchen to make herself a sandwich before going to sleep.

"Sorry about that." Jake said, still rather red.

Chance stood up, combing through his fur with his claws. "It's okay. That was really weird though." He avoided eye contact with Jake.

"Chance, is something wrong?" Jake asked worriedly.

"Let's not talk about it here." He looked in the direction Nikki went. "Do you know a nice place?"

Jake nodded. "Get on my motorcycle. I have to grab something."

* * *

Jake brought them down roads Chance never knew even existed in MKC until they pulled up to a tall chain fence with barbed wire at the top. Or, at least, _part_ of a fence. Chance couldn't see the rest of it, because it was thickly surrounded by trees and shrubs on both sides. This small bit of fence was actually a mile or so away from any actual road. Jake hid his bike in the brush.

"So, where are we?" Chance asked.

"We aren't there yet."

Jake jumped up into the limbs of a tree and looked at Chance. "I hope you can climb."

Chance nodded meekly. "I can." He drew out his claws and jumped up beside Jake.

Jake climbed and jumped between limbs. Some were large enough for him to walk on. Chance followed him slowly, slipping often. Jake had obviously done this a few times before, at least. Jake stopped on a limb the size of his own waist, looking outwards. Chance followed his gaze and saw a tall stone wall, apparently stretching all around the inside of the fence. The wall itself must have been two stories tall, maybe three.

"What is this place?"

"I don't know why this wall is here. but as far as I know, it always has been. There's no way to get through it ground level though. Those doors were welded shut. But a year or so ago, I found a way in on the second floor." Jake opened the bag he'd been carrying. Out of it he pulled his Glovatrix, which he put on, and then Chance's Glovatrix, which he readjusted a bit for Chance once he was wearing it, so that it fit perfectly. "The one thing these Glovatrixes do have right now is a grappling hook. Shoot it up there, try to get it hooked on that railing." Jake pointed at a balcony, then showed Chance how to fire it.

Once they were on the balcony, Jake waited a moment for Chance to catch his breath. When he was ready, Jake opened the door leading to the balcony and and they walked up a small flight of stairs on the inside, leading to another balcony, except this one faced the other way. The area on the inside was truly beautiful, though Jake didn't give Chance time to admire it yet. Jake released the hook, but hooked it on the railing, telling Chance to do the same. They let the line out slowly so that they could repel down the wall. At the bottom, they drew the hooks back. Jake had designed the hooks to be able to go in and out of a small metal case so they would be easier to fit in the Glovatrix and to retract.

Chance looked around while he followed Jake to a marble fountain in the middle. It was a park. There were sidewalks and benches everywhere. The lawn was moss, like Jake's yard. Off to one side was a playset arranged like an obstacle course. Jake took off his boots and socks, and sat on the fountain, feet in the crystal clear water. Jake motioned for him to do the same.

When Chance sat down, Jake asked him, "So what did you want to talk about? He tried not to sound overly concerned.

"Did she mean it?" Chance asked quietly. "Did she mean what she said about me?"

"Of course." Jake felt sorry for Chance. Sincerity must have been relatively unknown to him before. Popularity and people lying to you tend to go hand in hand.

"She did?" Chance sounded happy, yet unsure of himself.

"Chance, look at your reflection in the water." When he did, Jake continued. "Three things jump out first. One, you're wearing purple. Two, your fur is mostly blonde. Three, your eyes are a beautiful and deep shade of blue."

"I don't think she said that last part like that."

"I know. But it's true." Jake smiled at Chance. "Your stripes are damn sexy, as she said. Something to do with that tiger thing." As he said it, Jake couldn't help but trace Chance's visible stripes with a fingertip.

_Is Jake... no, he couldn't be. Or is he? Just give it a minute._

Jake continued. "You're muscular, but to just the right extent. The combination of your stripes and muscles make you really hot, in all truth. And your face holds a rare innocence usually lost by the time we're ten years old, making you cute at the same time. Not to mention you _are_ respectful, whether you try to hide it or not. So overall, you'd be an awesome catch to anyone who could win your heart. A word of wisdom, though, not everyone will love you for who you are, and only love you for you physical extent. You deserve the best." Jake's eyes glassed over, and he blinked back tears, and looked away from the kat who had so quickly become his crush. He had a feeling Nikki had looked Chance over out loud only as a spur.

Chance stared at the back of Jake's head. He heard a sniff. _He was, wasn't he? He was try to tell me he likes me, wasn't he? And now he's crying. I hope I didn't hurt him. _He but a paw on one of Jake's shoulders. "Jake..."

Jake turned to look at Chance, who immediately noticed that Jake was trying not to tear up any more than he already was. Chance wrapped his arms around Jake and pulled him into a hug, except it was lighter than that, more like pulling Jake into a position to lay his head on Chance's chest. Chance crossed his wrists and rested his paws at the small of Jake's back. He rested his cheek against Jake's.

"Thank you Jake. I wasn't sure if she was being honest." Chance blinked. "I love you, Jake."

Jake's ears twitched, and his tail swished, the tip touching the water. He met Chance's gaze. "Really?"

Chance nodded. "Will you be mine, Jake?"

Jake had started sobbing. "I love you too, Chance! And yes, I will. I want to be yours."

Chance let his tail curl into Jake's, so that they twined. He ran his paw down Jake's back. "I always will." He held up his Glovatrix, which he'd laid on top of his shoes. "I really hate to ruin this moment Jake, but weren't we going to the Yard to find blasters?"

Jake rubbed his head into Chance's chest for a minute. "Yeah, I guess."

* * *

Later that night, Jake sat in his invention room, Chance at his side. Blasters with their laser diodes were scattered all over the floor. They had managed to find seventeen blasters, but only eight had the diodes intact. Jake had modified them, of course, and had put four together for each Glovatrix, so that they'd be stronger than Enforcer-model blasters.

* * *

Weeks passed, and the bond between the two only grew stronger, as did their trust of each other. Jake had stopped hiding, even though it took Chance almost a month to completely convince him, and the kats at school were utterly shocked, but it passed. Chance's grades rose enough to let his popularity level drop to the point where people wouldn't be nice to him just to get popular. Neither of them cared, though. One of them went to the other's house almost every weekend. They grew stronger physically and mentally as they trained themselves. Every time they got bored, or didn't have a way to settle an argument, they raced each other on the obstacle course at the park until both of them were satisfied, or until they burned out. Only Nikki and Krystal ever caught on to they're relationship; they hid it quite well. By summer, Jake was all lean muscle, what was left of his younger features almost erased. His sincerity always burned through though, and occasionally he could make himself look innocent. Chance, on the other hand, didn't lose the innocence in his look and manner. His muscles grew more well defined, though his longer fur hid the fact, and made him look like he was just a very large, fluffy kitten. Jake had updated the Glovatrixes often, adding some of his simpler missiles, like the bolo missiles and the spiderweb missiles. They practiced with them in secret, mastering their aim. Well, Jake anyway. Chance didn't have the natural mastery of aim that Jake did.

Now, though, summer was coming to a close, and the couple would soon be starting their junior year. That didn't stop them from spending the last weekend before it started together, camping at the park where they had admitted their love for each other.

Jake and Chance were hanging upside down from the monkey bars, seeing who could stand the blood rush the longest. Jake was winning, clearly.

"Jake, do we have to do this?" Chance pleaded.

"Yeah, unless you want to give up." Jake smiled. He knew Chance was starting to fade.

Chance looked at the ground, ten feet away. "Ugh..." His legs loosened, and he fell, landing in a pathetic-looking heap of fur. Jake pulled himself up to the top of the bars and stood up. He flipped off of it, and landed perfectly on his feet with all the grace of a she-kat. He ran over to Chance, dropping to his knees. He straightened out Chance, who was barely awake.

"You okay, love?"

Chance coughed. "Yeah. Just give me a minute." Chance shakily got to his feet, using Jake as support. They walked over to their tent, which they had set up about thirty feet away from the fountain. Jake opened the 'door' and helped Chance, who was still dizzy, inside. Jake slipped in after him and closed the door behind them. They slid into their sleeping bags. They laid there in silence for a few minutes. Jake shivered.

"Cold?" Chance asked.

"Heh. Yeah. Unlike _someone,_ I don't have much meat on my bones to keep me warm. My fur only goes so far." After a little while, Jake got up.

"Where are you going?"

Jake rubbed his arms, trying to warm himself. "Bathroom."

"Oh. Hurry up, I don't want you to catch a cold."

Jake nodded before going out. Chance felt his grasp on consciousness slipping away after five minutes. He burrowed deeper into his sleeping bag and fell asleep. He woke around two in the morning. He blinked, letting his eyes adjust. Jake had slipped into Chance's sleeping bag with him and was nestled on his chest, his tail twined with Chance's. Chance poked his lover.

"Jake."

Jake yawned, opening his eyes.

"I see you're in my sleeping bag." Chance chuckled.

With a look of alarm, Jake shifted, trying to get out. "Sorry, I-"

Chance held Jake still. "You're fine, Jake. It just surprised me. That's all. I only woke you up to tell you that I like you like this."

"Like what?" Jake relaxed a bit.

"Just... needy. You're so cold that you're pulling heat off of me, even though it's summer. It's cute. I really do love you Jake."

Jake smiled. He shifted himself so that their noses were touching. "Remember the first time I brought you here?" he asked.

"Of course."

"We'd known each other less than a day then. I love you even more now than I did then, and my love will only grow for you."

Chance did something he'd wanted to do for a while. He moved his nose to the side and raised his upper body enough to meet Jake's lips. They'd never kissed before. They held hands, they cuddled, but they never kissed. Chance was always waiting for the perfect moment, and he figured now was as good as any. They kept it chaste though, but more love and meaning was transferred through it than even the most beautiful Disney kiss. Chance held it as long as he could, letting his empathic aura soothe Jake's nerves. Then they slept that way, lips and noses touching, breathing through their noses.

In the morning, Jake asked a question that startled Chance.

"What are we going to do with our lives, Chance?"

After thinking a few minutes, Chance came up with a good answer. "We could become Enforcers. We're in shape. You'd be the best marksman they'd ever seen, and I'd be a damn good pilot. You know?"

Jake nodded. "You're right. And I bet we'd be the best recruits they'd ever had."

"Enforcers it is, then?"

"Enforcers it is."

* * *

**BAM! Sorry to the people who don't like time shifts, but this is the first of a couple for me to get the story flowing the way I want it to. Also, there's going to be a few rather vague crossover moments in upcoming chapters, a word of warning. Anyway, please review, and the next chapter should be up soon.**


	5. Marking

**Thanks to Cody Furlong for reviewing again.**

**Just so you know, this chapter's going to have a few possibly confusing twists if it goes the way I want it to.**

**Comedy&Tragedy guide me.**

** ^_^ & T.T**

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* * *

**Jake sat on that limb, facing that massive stone wall yet again. He stared at his watch. He checked his phone. _Nothing. Chance... Where are you? _His love hadn't answered his texts or calls. Chance had always been early for their meetings here by ten, even twenty minutes. But he wasn't here yet. Jake was starting to panic. He closed his eyes and mentally slapped himself. _Stop it. He's only five minutes late. Maybe he just decided not to be early and got caught in traffic, or something... _

Suddenly what felt like a wrecking ball knocked him off the limb, except this wrecking ball had fur, and had failed to account for the drop down. Chance was still agile enough to break Jake's fall though. He helped Jake off the ground and brushed himself off.

"Sorry about that, Jake. I had to walk. My bike wouldn't start."

"You should've called me or something!" Jake was hugging Chance hard enough to restrict his air.

Chance checked his pockets. "Must have left my phone at home."

Jake was on the verge of tears. "I was worried about you..."

Chance held Jake tight and shot his Glovatrix at the railing, and pulled them both up. He dragged Jake to the other side. Chance hooked the other rail and dropped down to the other side.

By the time they got to the fountain, Chance had cheered Jake up. Chance held his love close to him when he sat on the fountain. He closed his eyes and kissed Jake, and lingered a moment before drawing back. When he opened his eyes, something was different about the park. It took a minute to realize what it was.

"Jake, where the hell did the park go?"

"I... don't... know." Jake looked around.

A small, unfamiliar voice peeped up. "I'm surprised it took you two _this _long to find this place, personally."

"Who's that?" Chance asked, looking for the source of the voice.

Balls of blue light converged in front of them, and a kitten wearing shorts and a purple jacket appeared. "If you want a name, the closest I can give you is Bahamut. But you won't see me enough to need to know. Again, it shouldn't have taken you as long as it did to enter this place."

"Where are we?" Jake asked.

"The world of spirits, silly. But most of us won't bother you, don't worry."

"Spirits?" Jake asked, thinking of his parents.

"_Most_ of you?" Chance asked.

"If you mean ghosts, no, not that kind of spirit. Spirits of forests, rivers, and animals. Spirits of nature, not the dead. And yeah, we won't bother you, unless you call. We like you. You two bring positive feelings to a negative place. This is like a dream, by the way. You can do what you want." The kit's shape warped into a massive humanoid black dragon with feathered wings, and he flew off.

"Wow." The lovers said in unison.

Jake noticed something else. "Chance..."

"What?" He was sitting on the edge of the fountain, trailing his legs off the side, moving them out and back, not touching the ground. He slipped and fell off it, landing on his back and hitting his head on the stone around the fountain. "Oww...that hurt." Chance sat up, holding his head.

"That hurt, and falling off that branch a few minutes ago didn't?"

Chance looked up for a minute. "I guess." He burrowed his head into his knees.

Jake jumped off the side of the fountain and walked by Chance, letting his tail brush Chance's neck. Chance's ear twitched. Jake sat down across from Chance, hugging his knees to his chest and resting his chin on them.

"ChAAAAAAaaaaance..." Jake said again, drawing out the name.

"What?" Chance snapped.

"Chance, really. Don't snap at me. You wouldn't in what... ten, twelve years?" Jake donned a pathetic, hurt look.

"What're you talkin' about?"

"You haven't noticed yet?" Jake asked.

"Noticed what?"

"Chance. We're kits again."

"What do you mean?" Chance looked at Jake. "Oh... Oh Bast I feel stupid now."

Jake laughed. "Yeah. I'm surprised you didn't notice when you fell off the fountain."

Chance jumped to scramble over the edge of the fountain so he could see his reflection. He jumped back down. "Aww, Jake... My muscles are all gone..."

"They aren't gone, silly. They're just smaller, like you are. Besides, if they were still big, you'd look like a midget, not a kit."

"I guess you're right. Again."

Jake smiled and lightly touched his love's face. "You're even cuter than before now. And your stripes are still there. You will always be beautiful in my eyes. Know that." Suddenly, Jake's voice sobered. "Unless you completely let go and your body goes to hell. It's hard to love someone who refuses to take care of themself when they're completely able. You know? But you take too much pride in yourself to do that." Jake stood up and looked himself over.

"I look like a kit trying to be an adult." The clothes he'd been wearing had shrunk, sure, but they still didn't look like a kit's clothing. He snapped his fingers, and his clothes changed into short shorts and a blue t-shirt. "Better."

"How?" Chance looked stunned.

"It's like a dream, remember?" Jake said, quoting Bahamut's words.

"Riiiight." Chance copied Jake, and his clothes morphed similarly, except his shirt was red, and had no sleeves.

Jake couldn't resist laughing.

"What?" Chance pouted.

"You can't show off your muscles, so you made sure to show as many of your stripes as possible. Cute."

Chance folded his arms. "Why shouldn't I?"

"It's not that. It's just... Think about it. We're what, five, six years old and we actually care what we look like."

"True."

"Not to mention you're still trying to impress me." Jake added playfully.

"Why not?"

"Now _you_ have a good point. Oh well. Let's go to the playset!"

Within minutes, they were hanging upside down from the monkey bars, facing each other, noses almost touching. Jake nuzzled Chance a bit.

"Hey you two." Bahamut appeared at their feet. Chance almost slipped, astonished.

"I forgot to tell you. Time goes slowly here. An hour here is around three and a half hours there, unless you consciously match the time flow when you enter. So if you have anything you actually had to do today... you might need to phase back soon."

This time, Chance _did _slip. Thankfully, he landed in the palm of a large dragon. Jake jumped down nest to Chance.

"Jake, we need to sign up today."

Jake nodded. Their senior year had ended a month ago, and today was the last day to fill out the forms required to become an Enforcer.

"What's wrong?" the Bahamut dragon asked.

"We need to get back as soon as possible." Jake told him. "How do we do that?"

Bahamut set then down near the fountain. "That's easy, the same way you got here." Receiving a questioning look from Chance, he elaborated. "Kiss at the fountain. If it's awkward at the age you are right now, you can always shift to normal."

"Nah." Jake jumped onto the fountain and helped Jake up. "Some kats might think this is a bit sick, bit I like it like this." Jake, for the first time, initiated their kiss.

When the snapped back into their own world, their real bodies, Jake drew back. He adjusted his Glovatrix, and they were off to register. It didn't take long to get to Enforcer HQ, it was only a few miles away. When they got there, Chance grabbed a couple of the forms and two pens to fill them out with, handing one of each to Jake. It took a surprisingly short amount of time to fill out; they were pretty much waivers. The kat on the desk thanked them when they turned over the forms.

"Thank you. You'll need to be settled into your rooms by the end of the week. Go down the hall, take a right, third door on your left. There's a room filled with new recruits, Commander Feral sorts them out into pairs every couple hours. He's due to do it again in five minutes. Hurry up."

Jake nodded. "Thanks."

The two followed the directions given and arrived in a room divided into two sides; pilots and gunners. After a short time Feral entered the room. He quickly sized up the kats in the room. There were about fifteen kats on each side.

"You are already divided into pilots and gunners. The kat you end up paired with may or may not like you. You will have to live with that. Under extreme circumstances you may need to get a different partner, such as if you fail to sync or fall out of sync. Neither of those can be fixed easily, especially falling out. It's akin to getting divorced and remarried to the same kat. It just doesn't happen. Before I pair you up, I'm going to give you a rare chance to pick your partner. This has to be someone you connect with almost inexplicably, or I'd have to assume you're just friends, In which case you're wasting my time. Mingle for a few minutes. If you find your perfect partner, come up to me. If you don't, for Bast's sake don't pretend you did."

Jake and Chance waited a minute before meeting up and heading toward Feral.

Jake looked up to meet Feral's eyes. "Commander."

"Yes?"

"We'd like to be partners."

Feral looked them over for a moment. "No."

"What?" said Chance, startled. "Why not?"

"Because you two look like a couple of friends who are doing this for kicks, and not only do friends usually sync badly, you also strike me as over-confident hotshots."

"Commander Feral," answered Jake, "we _are _friends, but we aren't doing this for kicks. We want to protect MegaKat City from the likes of all the scum that plague this place. Not to mention we've almost perfected our sync with each other. As for being hotshots, that's really up to you to decide." Jake had known something like this would come up, and had thought about what he would say to counter, knowing Chance probably wouldn't help their case much when he was surprised.

"Fine. But you're going to have to prove that you're synced to me." Suddenly Feral heard a click of a blaster and a whisper from behind him.

"Done, and done."

Feral spun around to see Chance holding a blaster at his face. "Why you..." He reached into his coat to pull out his own blaster only to find it gone.

"Looking for this, Commander?"

Feral turned back around. Jake was holding his blaster with one finger, swinging it by the trigger guard. He flipped it into his grasp and pointed it at Feral.

"I think this is checkmate, Commander." Jake gave Feral his blaster back, and Feral just folded his arms.

"Over-confident hotshots, indeed..."

"So, does this mean we're allowed to pair?" Chance asked innocently, as if they hadn't just completely screwed Feral over.

"Fine." the Commander grumbled.

The two high-fived each other,walking out of the room from a door opposite the one they'd entered. Outside the door was another desk. The kat sitting there handed them a small map leading to where they would sleep.

"That's your map." she drawled. She sounded bored. "It shows you to your room. Go home and pack, you won't need much; clothes to wear at night, maybe a robe for off-days, a computer if you want to. Most of the time outside your room you'll be wearing your uniform, which you can pick up here." She pointed to a room on the map. "If you want, you can get it tailored to fit you better."

* * *

It didn't take them long to pack. Late the next day they were settled in. The rooms were small, well, for rookies anyway. There was a bunk bed in the middle and a couple of small dressers to keep their bedclothes and other things. The only other really noticeably feature was a closet to put their uniforms in. Thankfully, the doors had locks, so that no one could bother them at free hours. Of course, higher ranking officers had keys, but they were only supposed to use them if you appeared to be skipping training for no real reason.

Jake put an ear to one of the walls. He could rather clearly hear the conversation of the kats in the next room over. "The walls are thin. We're going to have to keep noise down. Especially if it needs to stay private."

Chance grinned and swept Jake off his feet. He laid down on the bottom bunk and held Jake above his face like a pet. "And what kind of noise are we going to be making?" he asked devilishly.

Jake's eyes widened. "I-I didn't mean it like that!"

Chance sat up and held Jake in his lap. He caressed Jake's face.

"Chance..." Jake leaned into his touch.

"If you want me to stop, just say so." Chance whispered. He met Jake's lips, and for the first time, he let his tongue wander into his lover's mouth. He caressed Jake's tongue lightly with his own. Chance positioned himself over Jake, but he supported his own weight. He let his tongue explore the recesses of Jake's mouth, making Jake moan. Chance pressed on. After Jake moaned a second time, however, someone pounded on the wall.

"Keep it down, fags!"

Chance drew back, ears flat. He cracked his knuckles. Jake laid his head on Chance's chest.

"Chance... it's okay. Sure, everyone's going to have a clue now, and we'll probably get hell for it, but don't let them ruin this. Please?"

Chance's paws relaxed. He nodded.

"I have an idea. I think we can shift to the spirit side. If it's as dreamlike as Bahamut says it is, our bodies should stay here. Should we try, Chance?"

"That could work, I guess. I just hope..."

"That it will be as real? If you want it to, it should be. Remember, you didn't even realize you'd shifted into a kit when you fell. Go to the top bunk and let one of your arms trail off the side."

Jake stayed in the bottom bunk while Chance climbed the short ladder to the top. When he saw Chance's paw, he took it in his own. "Now, think of our love for each other, and direct it to our paws. Make it like a kiss, just with paws." Jake watched his paw intently for a few minutes, and eventually, the edges blurred. He released Chance's paw, and Chance folded his arms. Jake willed himself into his kit form, and shifted into cute blue pajama pants and a white t-shirt. He tried to make himself look as cute as possible. Thankfully, his massive green eyes made that easy. It was funny, how thought processing changed with his body. Thankfully, he could think normally, although he did let his playful nature seep through, being a kit and all. Chance would be normal, and seeing him like this... Jake smiled at the thought. Jake stood up straight on the mattress and walked to the end of the bunk. He turned around and jumped up as quietly as he could, grabbing the frame of the top bunk, where the footboard would normally be. He used the dreamlike nature of the spirit world to help him pull himself up enough to see Chance, who was now under the blankets, paws behind his head, eyes closed. Jake slipped under the covers and slowly inched his way up next to Chance. He bit his tongue to avoid laughing. Jake crawled up onto Chance's stomach and let his tail twist around Chance's. Chance lifted the blankets and was a bit surprised to see kitten Jake.

"Jake?"

Jake darted up and wrapped his short arms around Chance's neck. He rubbed his forehead into Chance's neck before rolling to the side and turning to his normal self. He turned to Chance, placing a paw on his lover's chest.

"Finish what you started, big boy." Jake said huskily.

Chance didn't need to be told twice. He helped Jake out of his shirt and took off his own. He kissed Jake, letting their tongues wander in each other's mouths. At the same time, he was unbuttoning his pants and sliding them off, leaving him only in boxers, and Jake in only pajama pants. He drew back for a moment.

"Jake, why didn't we do this before?" he asked.

"Chance, I was a minor before. You were nineteen and I was seventeen. Sure, that period didn't last long, but still..." Jake replied happily.

Jake slid down Chance's body and nuzzled his lover's groin, eliciting a loud moan. Smiling playfully, he did it again, a bit harder this time. Chance moaned again. Jake's paws slipped under Chance's boxers.

"Jake! Did you just squeeze my ass?"

Jake grinned. "Maybe." He slid back up to kiss Chance. Jake used his feet to slide off Chance's boxers, and he kicked off his own pants. He flipped onto his stomach and pressed his tail against his back. "Fuck me Chance. Now." He stood on his paws and knees.

Chance kissed Jake again before moving behind Jake. He took a moment to position his cock at Jake's hole. "I'm not gonna lie Jake, this'll probably hurt like a bitch." After an accepting nod from Jake, he pushed himself into Jake roughly. Jake moaned loudly. Chance couldn't tell if it was pain or pleasure. Then again, at this point he didn't care, nor did Jake. For them, pain and pleasure were blurred into each other. He drew out almost all the way before pushing back in quickly. Jake howled in pleasure. Chance repeatedly drew out and slammed back in, until he felt himself come to the edge. At that point, he moved Jake into a position where he could buck into Jake and jack Jake off at the same time. When Chance came, he filled Jake to the hilt and then some. He thrusted a few more times to get the last bit of cum out. He drew out and moved to give Jake more attention. Jake licked the cum off of Chance's cock and balls, and Chance engulfed Jake's own dick with his mouth. Chance had already brought Jake relatively close to the edge when he'd been jacking him off, so when Chance started tugging at Jake's barb hairs with his tongue, it wasn't long before Jake came. Chance milked Jake of everything he had, and let Jake's cum drench his tongue before swallowing. He licked his lips and shifted to kiss Jake one more time. Jake bit Chance on the neck, using only his fangs. He didn't bite hard, but he bit hard enough to draw blood and mark Chance as his mate. Jake licked the blood off before they fell asleep together, in reality as well as the dream. When he woke, Chance would find that the mark of his lover transcended realities, and that the red mark on his neck wouldn't be too easy to hide.

* * *

**Yay, I'm done with this chapter! I liked it, did you? Review for me please.**


	6. Enforcers and a Snake

**Insert everything I always say here.**

**A few more time skips here. Sorry, but it's hard for me to write in detail _and_ cover any span of time.**

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* * *

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As months passed, Jake and Chance perfected their ability to shift into the realm of spirits. As it turned out, though, everyone already knew of their relationship with each other. Not many of the other new recruits were happy for them, either. A lot of the older Enforcers were fine with it though. Apparently a lot of partners ended up dating each other, gay or not, if for no other reason than the matching of their minds that comes with perfect or near-perfect sync. Every day, the couple would walk through the Academy, only to be met with sneers and taunts. As their agitation grew, Jake and Chance considered actually leaving the force more and more. They kept realizing, though, that they had no where to go. Not at this point, not if they wanted to live together. And they did, truly. One day, though, the homophobic kats made a mistake that nearly cost them their lives.

Jake sat next to Chance on the roof of the Enforcer building. Of course, only Enforcers had roof clearance, but they were Enforcers, so no problem for them. A senior Enforcer had once told them that the roof was a good place to hang out with the kat you loved. He'd been right. The duo sat up here often when they had free time. They'd sit at the edge of the building and look at the skyline. They especially loved it during sunset and moonrise. This is what they were doing now, in fact. But they were interrupted this time, unexpectedly. Usually, if someone went onto the roof, it was to launch the choppers or to hang out. This time, though, it was _them_. The same kats who had ganged up on Jake about three months ago. They'd surprised him when he was getting some soup for Chance, who'd caught one of the worst colds either of them had ever seen. Well, not really a cold, unless you could call tonsillitis, an ear infection, a fever of 103.6, and a bad headache a cold. They ended up cracking a couple of his ribs and giving him bruises just about everywhere. Chance had suggested he tell Feral, but Jake had refused and just made sure to hide them. Chance couldn't hug Jake like he normally would've until he was healed completely, which thankfully only took about a month to heal completely. Jake looked at Chance, who could easily see the fear in his lover's eyes. There were a lot more of them this time.

"Chance."

"Jake?"

"There's no way in hell I'm going through that again."

"I'd die before I'd let that happen to you, Jake."

"And I you, Chance. But with that logic, either way we're both dead."

"Are you suggesting...?"

Jake nodded. "I..._we_ need to fight back. We can't go down Chance. We _need_ to live this through. As long as we can avoid killing them, I don't care how many we hospitalize."

Chance blinked, then said solemnly, "You're right. We need to do this." He stood up and took a step in front of Jake, folding his arms. To the large group of kats advancing on them, he said, "You're not going to hurt Jake."

"We're not, huh?" The dark brown tabby that Chance assumed was their leader jeered.

Jake stood up, taking his position next to his love and lover. "You aren't hurting Chance, either."

The leader took a knife out of his pocket, and at least four of the kats behind him drew their own weapons. One even drew his Enforcer model blaster. The mass of haters ran at the duo, stopping only a few feet away when the two didn't even flinch. "Accepted your fate already? You wusses are so pathetic you almost aren't worth killing!"

Neither flinched. Their tails twined behind them, and they let themselves be drawn into a state of resonance of their souls with each other's, a feat only attained by the few couples with the special bond of love and sincerity it takes to get drawn into the spirit realm. At this point, the leader laughed.

"Aw, the fags want to die together. How _DISGUSTING!_"

Their eyes began to glow brightly; Jake's green, Chance's blue. Their voices were in perfect sync. "While I'm alive, you won't hurt him." They both said. Their tails unwound as they walked away from each other. Once they were about ten feet away from each other, they turned to the group. The resonating duo spoke again, setting the group off edge.

"You want to kill us? Then fight. You'll deserve the pain you get." They watched one of the smaller kats in the group run away. They ignored him.

The rest of the group pulled out their knives. Jake and Chance took it as their cue. They sprinted toward each other and jumped into the air, colliding boot to boot, and pushed off each other, so that they went even higher. As they came down, they landed in the middle of the crowd, each knocking out one of them. They worked through the majority of the crowd quickly, and it wasn't long before there was only the leader and one other kat left. "Big now?" Jake asked as he knocked the remaining lackey out in a single hit.

"You know, you both said you wouldn't let us hurt you. Yet both of you are bleeding all over."

The two looked at themselves. It was true, both of them looked like they'd gone through the paper shredder. Chance stepped behind the kat, Jake in front. Jake held the kat by the throat, claws out. Chance held him on the other side, fingers touching Jake's. Their paws glowed.

"You two, stop!"

The two turned their heads to see Feral, with the kat that had run off behind him.

"I've seen enough here. Stop this before I remove you from the force!"

Jake turned back to the dark brown tabby. "I'm sorry, Commander. I've let go of this too many times. I can't, not this time." Jake and Chance sent their soul energy tearing through the kat, forcing him into a deep coma. Jake looked at Feral. "He deserved to _die_." Jake collapsed onto the roof, unconscious from over exerting his energy, as well as blood loss. Chance passed out next to him.

When they woke, they were in a hospital. Feral stood next to them. He shook his head slowly.

"You two... I hope you realize that under most circumstances you would be under life imprisonment."

Jake groaned and tried to sit up. "So what are _our_ circumstances, Commander?"

"Well, neither of you have a record, and it could be considered self defense, but you two still put nine kats into the hospital for nearly critical injuries and two with comas. The best I can do for you is put you on community service five days a week indefinitely. I can't keep you on the force."

"But, Commander, we-" Chance got cut off.

"Chance, we knew this would happen. Don't back out now." Black was creeping back into Jake's vision. It didn't take him long to pass back out.

Chance sighed. "I know, Jake. Sorry." He closed his eyes and let himself drift back off.

~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~

A few days later, The duo was released from the hospital. They were told to pick up their things at HQ and head to the old salvage yard, where they would be living the rest of their life, or close to it, unless the charges against them all dropped somehow. When they arrived, two strange looking kats waited for them. The short one tossed a set of keys to Chance.

"Feral says you two have to run the salvage yard! Not so hot now, are ya?" The two drove off.

Chance looked around in disgust. "Jake, this is stupid. We aren't junkmen!" He kicked a piece of scrap metal.

Jake spoke up. "Chance. There's enough military salvage here... I think we could build it."

Chance's eyes widened. He hadn't ever thought they'd actually get the chance. "The jet. Our jet."

Jake nodded. "The one of a kind, Turbokat."

The two spent the next three days settling in and looking around. They even found a hangar in which they would eventually build the Turbokat.

* * *

Insert long time lapse here. Jake is now 24, Chance 25. They've been the SWAT Kats for a few years now. Taking place after the show was canceled.

* * *

Jake was handcuffed to the bed in his boxers when the SK alarm sounded.

He flattened his ears. "Damn... That's our cue, Chance. Get me out of these."

A very naked Chance fluffed himself up. "But I don't _want _you out of those, Jake..." He whined. "It's sexy..."

Jake shook his head. "Chance. It's Callie. The Swat Kats have to answer her."

"Fine." Chance undid Jake's cuffs and picked up the phone. "Ms. Briggs, what's wrong?" He put it on speaker.

"T-Bone, Dr. Viper's at it again. We noticed early, so he hasn't done much damage yet, but the Enforcers found his lab. He's turning MegaKat Bay into MegaSwamp Bay. The Enforcers need help!"

"We're on it, Ms. Briggs."

It took them all of three minutes to get dressed and into the Turbokat. When pulling out of the hangar, Razor noticed something off about T-Bone.

"T-Bone, is something wrong?" he asked worriedly.

"No, nothing." There was a strong hint of sadness in his voice.

"What, that we got interrupted?" Razor joked.

"I said it was nothing."

Razor leaned forward and put a paw on his mate's shoulder. He whispered in his ear. "Chance... I love you. I know when you're lying." He sat back.

T-Bone sighed and cut off the Turbokat's radio feed. He spoke up. "It's just, I never thought about it before, but we'll never have kits."

Razor's eyes fell. "I never thought about it either. Do you _want _kits?"

"Yeah... I think I do."

"Me too. We could adopt, maybe. I don't know."

"I don't either. Look, can we save this conversation for later?"

"Oh, yeah."

T-Bone turned the feed back on. A few minutes later, they arrived at the bay. It didn't take long to locate Viper's lab, it was in a rather obvious cave, since it was surrounded by mutant plants that the Turbokat's new flamethrower made short work of. The duo had several issues sneaking in, but nothing that really slowed them down.

"Geez," Razor commented, "these omegas are slacking off..."

When they found the actual room the lab was in, T-Bone, who entered first, was promptly met with a serpentine tail in the face, smashing him hard into the rock wall. When he didn't get right back up, Razor rushed to his side.

"T-Bone! Are you okay?"

T-Bone's eyes flicked open lazily. "I wouldn't say okay." He made a pathetic attempt at a laugh. "Give me a minute. I'll get back up. Don't wait for me though, get him!" He pointed at the lizard trying to escape.

Razor dashed forward, landing a punch on Viper's chest, sending him flying into a shelf of chemicals. One of the jars fell to the ground, shattering. He wasted no time firing a spiderweb missile at the villain. However, when the weights wrapped around him, they shattered multiple other jars, splashing everywhere.

T-Bone saw a small spark catching one of the chemicals on fire. He put all his strength into standing up and pulling Razor back out of the room, and collapsed just before the explosion.

~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~

"T-Bone!" Razor shook his mate in an attempt to wake him.

"Ugh..." T-Bone opened his eyes. "Razor?"

"Yeah, buddy. It's me." He said softly. "I was starting to think I was losing you."

"Nah..." He sat up. "I'm okay now." Upon noticing a kat behind Razor, he asked, "Who's that?"

The kat stepped forward. He looked familiar, but T-Bone couldn't place it. "Hello, T-Bone."

Razor put a paw on the kat's shoulder. "T-Bone. Meet Dr. Elrod 'Viper' Purvis."


End file.
